When naive computer-nerd and millionaire Quentin Fears meets
the woman of his dreams at a posh Washington, D.C., party and then
marries her, he thinks his life is complete. But in this low-key
horror novel, appearances can't be trusted and people aren't always
in control of their actions. Although Madeleine seems quite
sophisticated, there are deficits in her memory and her background
is vague. She claims a large, well-to-do family but invites no
relatives to the wedding. When Quentin finally meets his in-laws
at their palatial Upstate New York mansion, they strike him as
eccentric, almost as cartoons of real people. The domineering
grandmother, whom Madeleine hates, sits in a trance, eyes closed,
refusing to speak. There are hints of past child abuse -- and of
the possibility that a young boy may have been murdered. Why do so
many of Madeleine's relatives have names identical to those buried
in the family cemetery? And why doesn't Madeleine leave any
footprints in the snow? Although the story moves toward a powerful
climax, its primary pleasures are more subtle: strong character
development and complex motivations, a mystery to solve, the
discovery of wheels within wheels. It's rare that Card, renowned
for his science fiction (see the review of his Children of the
Mind, below), switches genres. But when he does, here as in his
Lost Boys (1992), there's little lost and a rare pleasure gained.
$50,000 ad/promo; author tour; U.K., translation, first serial and
dramatic rights: Barbara Bova. (Aug.)

The first two volumes of Card's Ender saga, Ender's Game and
Speaker for the Dead, each won the Hugo and Nebula awards for best
novel. This adept fourth volume in the series (after Xenocide,
1991) continues the story of Ender Wiggin, hero, social conscience
and unwitting mass murderer. Here, however, Ender, feeling the
weight of his years, plays only a limited role in the desperate
attempt to avert the destruction by the Starways Congress of the
planet Lusitania and its three intelligent races. Foremost among
those at center stage are Peter and Young Valentine, Ender's
children of the mind, copies of his brother and sister whom he
accidentally created on his trip Outside the universe in Xenocide.
Also central is Jane, the prickly Artificial Intelligence whose
unique ability to use the Outside to transcend the light-speed
barrier is key to all attempts to save Ender's adopted world.
Peter, Val, Jane and their companions must crisscross the galaxy to
find new planets for Lusitania's refugees while trying to influence
the politicians and philosophers who have the power to stop the
Congress's approaching war fleet. Readers unfamiliar with earlier
Ender novels may have trouble picking up some plot threads. But
Card's prose is powerful here, as is his consideration of mystical
and quasi-religious themes. Though billed as the final Ender
novel, this story leaves enough mysteries unexplored to justify
another entry; and Card fans should find that possibility, like
this novel, very welcome indeed.
Major ad/promo; 200-copy limited
leather-bound edition, $200. (Aug.)